The walking dead

In Dead Nation on PlayStation 3 the world has come to an end. Zombies roam the Earth, hungry for human flesh after a viral epidemic has torn through the globe, infecting almost everyone on the planet. Taking on the role of either Jack McReady or Scarlett Blake - two survivors who have somehow managed to remain impervious to the devastating virus - your goal is to battle through zombie infested streets, crumbling buildings and spooky swamps in order to escape the city and find a cure to the deadly disease sweeping the globe.

Along the way you'll not only have to contend with hundreds of zombies, but also various mutated humans that have evolved into hideous creatures of the night. It's not going to be easy, but who said a zombie apocalypse was a walk in the park? Do you think you've got what it takes to take on the undead hordes in Dead Nation, the brand new game from the creators of Super Stardust HD? Then grab your wireless controller and hit the streets of a city in need of cleansing.

Deadly tactics

Controlling your character in Dead Nation is simple: the left stick controls movement, while the right stick aims your weapon and R1 is reserved for firing. Here's a tip: always keep your finger hovering over the R1 button because Dead Nation throws hundreds of zombies at you during the course of a mission. Thankfully, each mission has checkpoints that offer up a well needed breather and the chance to stock up on ammunition, new weapons and a series of increasingly powerful explosives.

You earn currency to spend at Weapons Shops by taking down zombies. The more zombies you dispose of in Dead Nation the more cash you earn, and for every kill you make your multiplier increases. The goal in each mission is to keep increasing the multiplier and avoid taking any damage in order to accumulate huge amounts of cash and points at the end of each level. You can also find secret cash stashes inside the car boots and containers spread around each level.

While it does pay to explore darkened corners and eerie alleys in Dead Nation, you need to be prepared at all times. A lone crate tucked away in a side street is almost always guarded by a small army of the undead just waiting to pounce. If you find yourself in a jam and surrounded, tap the L2 button quickly to perform a dash manoeuvre. It's the perfect way to smash through a wall of zombies and turn the tables. You also have a melee attack at your disposal, which can be performed by pressing the R2 button. Like the dash, it's perfect for getting you out of tight spots.

Over the course of this epic journey, you'll wield a huge arsenal of weapons including assault rifles, shotguns, machine guns, rocket launchers and a few unique gadgets too. Each weapon can be upgraded to improve reload times, rate of fire, power and the amount of ammo you can carry. The larger the upgrade, the more it costs, so be sure to aim for those big multipliers to earn plenty of cash. Aside from the guns, you also have grenades, mines, Molotov cocktails, TNT and flares. One thing is for sure in Dead Nation - you won't be short on firepower!

Zombie nations

Dead Nation features a two player online co-operative mode where you and a friend can face off against the zombies via PlayStation Network. Playing the game in co-operative mode offers a different level of challenge than exploring the ruins of a ravaged city in single player.

Together you can employ various tactics to take out the undead including setting traps with mines and luring them into tight spaces so they can be easily destroyed with a grenade or a few rounds from a machine gun. Co-operative mode can also be played offline, which means you and a partner can blaze through the game from the comfort of your couch!

Dead Nation also includes global and local leaderboards that pit players from other countries against each other. Every zombie you kill is added to your country's total, so make sure you kill as many as you can in each level to reach that top spot. Once an allocated number of kills has been reached in the leaderboards, a brand new Infection Cycle begins and the race for number one begins all over again.